ivory & ruby
by Queen Taurus
Summary: two best-friends and the rollercoaster of love — knuckles/rouge. [book 1: ivory & ruby series]
1. zero

**0.**

* * *

 **prologue**

* * *

 **He hated her at first.**

They were in the 3rd grade. She threw ice-cream on his favourite sneakers. She laughed, he was angry, the two exchanged insults and Knuckles believed from that day, the ivory bat with the blueish-green eyes would never be his friend.

They were partners for a history project in the fourth grade. Knuckles argued with the teacher and begged her for a trade, but the teacher refused, claiming that they should all be friends. Knuckles frowned, glancing at the annoying bat that ruined his favourite sneakers. He scowled about how much he hated history. And she agreed. And while the two were stuck inside for break as they didn't do the work they were supposed to, he learnt that her eyes were actually teal.

They became inseparable from the fifth grade. It was odd how two years ago, he would have never pictured being friends with someone like her, and now, he couldn't picture his life without her. She infuriated him, insulted him and made him want to kill her every minute of the day, but yet, he was still proud to call her his best friend.

They were some weird feelings he got from the start of freshmen year. She had changed _physically_. She had always been pretty, but she looked prettier. The normal things they used to do like holding hands and sleeping on the same bed felt weird. Her smile felt different, made his heart flutter a bit and he was liking the feeling.

It wasn't until sophomore year that he knew. He knew that he was completely, head over heels for his best friend. He was denying his feeling during the summer of freshmen year. Arguing that this was Rouge, the girl who ruined his sneakers. The girl who called him Knucklehead and Doofus everyday. The girl who snuck into his window and watching a cheesy Disney movie when her parents were fighting. The girl who dragged him shopping everyday.

This was _not_ the girl that he was in love with. And yet, it was.

It was also the year that she started dating Shadow. It hurt, it _physically_ and _emotionally_ hurt to watch the two together. To watch Shadow's hand, hold her hand the way they used to like kids; the way Shadow pecked her lips the way that he had _dreamed_ to. The way she looked at Shadow, wishing that she could even _glance_ at him just the same.

And now it was junior year. And Knuckles knew that he and Rouge would simply just be him and Rouge. Nothing more and nothing less.

But love is a crazy ride. And maybe this year, he and Rouge were about to enter theirs.

* * *

 **...**


	2. playlist

**PLAYLIST**

* * *

 **i. Coaster – Khalid**

 **ii. Drive – Halsey**

 **iii. Motion – Khalid**

 **iv. Roman Holiday– Halsey**

 **v. Bloodsport – Raleigh Ritchie**

 **vi. I Miss You – Clean Bandit featuring Julia Michaels**

 **vii. Quicksand – SZA**

 **viii. Feeling – Justin Bieber featuring Halsey**

 **ix. Lost – Frank Ocean**

 **x. IDFC – Blackbear**

 **xi. Fumes – EDEN featuring Gnash**

 **xii. In the Dark — Camila Cabello**

 **xiii. Roman Holiday — Halsey**

 **xiv. Tell Me You Love Me — Demi Lovato**

 **xv. Roller Coaster — Justin Bieber**

 **xvi. Never Be The Same — Camila Cabello**

 **xvi. WILD — Troye Sivan featuring Alessia Cara**

 **xiii. Chateau — Blackbear**

 **xix. Boyfriend – Ariana Grande featuring Social House**

 **xx. Imperfect Circle – Jorja Smith**

 **xxi. In my head – Ariana Grande**

 **xxii. Lost — Frank Ocean**

 **xxiii. All The Stars — Kendrick Lamar featuring SZA**

 **xxiv. On My Mind — Jorja Smith**

* * *

 **…** **.**

* * *

 **Hi guys! I'm back!**

 **Sorry for the long hiatus. I had exams so obviously I couldn't write/focus on rewriting this story. Y'all can tell from my one-shots (that has gotten so much support! Thank you all!) that I'm coming back! Anyway, it took me a lot longer to rewrite this story than I expected. But just to relive people from their curiosity in case you're wondering. Why rewrite the story?**

\- **I didn't like the way I wrote some of the characters, mainly Julie + Lara-Le. I felt like I was making Julie-Su the villain which was** ** _far_** **from the plan with her. I'm completely against the whole** ** _making a character who rivals with my ship evil_** **. [e.g. the whole Amy and Sally bashing within the extreme (and some may say toxic) Sonsal and Sonamy fans]. I don't ship Knuxsu at all but I will not hate Julie for that. Julie isn't a** ** _villain_** **and my aim in this rewrite is to make her more of a complex character (** **hopefully better than Archie.** **Did I say something?) As for Lara-Le, I turned her into quite a petty mother with an agenda with Rouge for no reason and also, I picture Knuckles and Tikal living with their dad more than their mum (well technically** ** _Knuckles'_** **dad). I have better plans for Lara-Le**

\- **I wanted to explore Shadow and Rouge's relationship more. Despite the fact that I actually** ** _don't_** **ship Shadouge (no hate to those who do; I just see them as more of a friendship than a couple). Regardless, I feel like their breakup prior to when my story started actually pushed the writer's block even though. Now I'm exploring it, there's going to be a lot more angst, drama and complications!**

\- **The way I wrote the couples made me want to throw up! I felt like Shadow was way too OOC with Tikal, I have no idea what the hell was going on with Tails/Cosmo's relationship and Silver/ Blaze? Disgusting. Don't even get me started on Sonic/Amy and Manic/Sally. So that needed to be improved. Also the fact that I support Sonia/Mighty now (new crack ship; don't hate!)**

\- **The plot to me felt rushed. Knuckles and Julie's relationship, Rouge already starting to feel jealous, the forming of other couples. I don't know why I was rushing so much considering it's not really a race for me to finish the book. I need to take my time, especially if I want the plot to actually be good! I feel like I was trying to squeeze so much into one chapter which just made me wanna gag.**

 **Those are the main reasons why I took a while with the rewrite this story. I had so many problems with it that I needed to thoroughly plan it in order to fix it. Which I now have! So anyway, I'm putting my usual warnings and disclaimers here. Please read before going into the story.**

* * *

 **…** **.**

* * *

 **WARNINGS & DISCLAIMERS**

 **i.** **This is a Sonic Highschool** **AU;** **like majority of my stories meaning that most of the things that happened in the game, shows and comics will not happen in this story, simply meaning that all the action based and Dr Eggman being evil storylines did not happen. Additionally, the gang does** ** _not_** **have their powers, although they would be hinted at in the book (e.g. Sonic, Shadow and Silver being on the track team (speed) and Knuckles being on the wrestling team (strength)**

 **ii.** **This is the first book in the** ** _Ivory and Ruby_** **series! Yes, I'm turning this back into a trilogy again! I was going to make this one story but after planning it out, I realised that I actually wanted it to be a trilogy again!**

 **iii.** **This story is rated** **M** **as it contains topics that not every would be a fan of reading. So** **WARNING;** **this story is NOT censored to mature topics including but not limited to; explicit language, sexual content, use of drugs and alcohol, graphic content [suicide, mental illnesses], etc. These topics would be placed at the beginning of the chapter. If you're not comfortable with this, please don't read this story! There are plenty of stories that have things that you're looking for.**

 **iv.** **Couples in this story include; Knuckles/Rouge, Sonic/Amy, Tails/Cosmo, Shadow/Tikal, Silver/Blaze, Manic/Sally, Mighty/Sonia and Charmy/Cream. These are my couples and if you don't like them (which I respect), you don't need to read this story/hate on them. Go to the search bar and kindly find the your taste!**

 **v.** **Following on from the last point, I'd be dealing with a lot of characters/couples. Meaning that while Knuckles and Rouge's story is** ** _central_** **to the plot, there will be side-plots that should be equally as important as the main plot of the story.**

 **vi.** **There is no character that is going to be bashed and glorified, particularly between Knuckles and Rouge and the people that stand in the way of them. Neither Shadow nor Julie would be villainised in any way. I will not use OOCness in order to present a character as a dickhead or use it to glorify them in order to further to plot of the story.**

 **vii.** **There wouldn't be any OCs in this story. With the wide range of characters within the Sonic franchise, I don't really see the need for OCs anymore. They will be in the other two stories but within this story, there will no OCs.**

 **viii.** **Following on from that, I** **do not own any Sonic character/location** **being used in this story. All Sonic characters and location belong respectively to their owners; SEGA, Archie and IDW publishing.** **I do wish that I owned Sonic and the gang though**

 **Enough about my announcements. I'm actually very excited for this story and I hope you all like it! Please tune in to the roller-coaster that is,** ** _Ivory and Ruby, book one!_**

\- **Queen Taurus [new username; I've gotten into horoscopes more,** **Amy would be** ** _so_** **proud of me!]**


	3. epigraph

**_epigraph_**

* * *

 ** _"_** ** _Love involves a peculiar_**

 ** _unfathomable_** ** _combination_**

 ** _of understanding and misunderstanding"_**

 _―_ _ **Diane Arbus**_


	4. PART ONE

_**"Unrequited love differs from mutual love,**_

 _ **just like delusion differs**_

 _ **from the truth." — George Sands**_


	5. one

**i.**

* * *

 ** _"_** ** _Loving you is a bloodsport." – Bloodsport, Raleigh Ritchie_**

* * *

 **KNUCKLES HATED ECONOMICS.**

He really didn't care about anything that simply _related_ to economics. He was never really interested in the way that supply and demand worked or how businesses could do their best to make the most amount of money. He really didn't care about profit margins or whatever was going on right now in the class. The only reason that he took the class was because of his father.

Knuckles scoffed. As much as he loved his dad, he _hated_ economics and didn't see why his dad loves it so much. A part of him wondered why he had actually decided to take economics in the end. He really didn't care about businesses and he _hated_ math ever since sophomore year—he didn't even know how he had managed to _pass_ the exam. He knew it was mostly because of his dad and wanting to bond with him.

His dad was addicted to working. He normally came home late just to go to work early the next morning. He knew that he loved him and Tikal, but a part of him wondered if he loved the job or his family more. That was why his mother left after all, she wanted to be with someone who appreciated her more. And she did, the wedding was simply over a year ago and her and her new husband already have a three month old. He never seemed invested in her family. His relationship with his mother was somewhat complicated.

He understood why she left, but he didn't know if she was ever going to forgive her. Tikal seemed to, in fact, they sent each other letters every week, hence how he found out his three month old half-brother.

Regardless of his relationship with his mother, he knew that his father wasn't dealing too well with the fact that she had started a new family and seemed content with it. It was the sole reason behind him doing economics. No matter how much he hated it, he at least knew that he was making his dad happy. Besides, there was a plus side to being in economics class.

Being able to glance at Rouge the Bat every five seconds.

Knuckles huffed. Rouge the Bat. One of the most popular and attractive girls in school. Co-captain of the cheerleading team with Amy Rose. His best friend and also, the love of his life.

He had told himself he had to get over her. After all, it had been six months since she had started dating Shadow the Hedgehog.

 _Ew, Shadow_.

As much he had a rivalry with him in sports and with Rouge, he hated how well they fit together. He was captain of the football team, co-captain of the track team, one of the most popular guys in school. Most people refer to him as the _mysterious_ guy. He rolled his eyes when he saw people talk about how cute the couple are or how they were couple goals. He hated how he could easily swing his arm around her, even though he was just standing beside her. He hated that after football games, she'd run up to him and kiss him. He hated how the crowd cheered for them as a couple and more importantly, he hated how it hurt his heart.

Despite the pain, despite his annoyance and wanting to strangle the hedgehog most of the time, he knew that in the end, his best friend's happiness was more than his own selfish needs. Did he hurt to see her with him? Of course it did, but Rouge was happy and that was all that mattered to him.

At least Shadow wasn't in their economics class, so it wasn't too awkward but regardless, he needed to be careful. Despite him being one of the popular guys in school, this was still highschool, and rumours spread around like wildfire. The last thing he needed was an interrogation from Shadow as to why he was staring at his girlfriend.

Perhaps that was going to be the plan. Stare at her from a distance and casually get over her.

That seemed like a pretty good plan

—

"Do you believe in love?"

Knuckles choked on his coffee. The two were currently in the student lounge, relaxing and talking about how their summer went. It was a simple conversation. Rouge was going on and on about how she spent time with Shadow—he inwardly gagged when she mentioned his name—the girls, and her shopping experiences. Knuckles couldn't help but feel jealous. Not strictly because of the Rouge thing, but the fact that she had freedom. He had spent majority of his summer working in his Dad's office and having his father teach him the _beauty of business_.

Disgusting.

The conversation was pretty simple. How five words managed him to be currently coughing out some of his coffee surprised him more than he realised.

"Woah Knuckie, don't die on me." she smirked.

He frowned as her smirk widened. She knew that he hated that nickname, but he never really told her to stop. He hated when other people called him that—especially Sonic when he was teasing him—but he never wanted her to stop calling him that. He guessed it was one of the side effects of being in love with her.

"I'm fine." Knuckles croaked. "Just went down the wrong pipe."

After a few more coughs, he adjusted himself. "Why are you asking?"

She shrugged. "Just curious."

Knuckles glanced at her. Was she in love with—

 _No._ She couldn't possibly be. Or perhaps she was. Despite her tough exterior, Knuckles knew that there was a vulnerable girl inside of her. She showcased a girl that was filled with confidence and pride and whilst she did have those things, Knuckles also knew the vulnerable sides of her. He knew that despite what she said, the pain of her broken family haunted her. He knew that she was pained when her father cheated on her mother. He always guessed that was why she didn't date for a while. She was popular for her flirting, but never for her dating, that was until Shadow at least.

Maybe Shadow was the one.

He felt his skin crawl. Shadow, _the one_? Despite their arguments and their dumbest break-up—one was over which was the most common _food_ —he made her happy. And she made him happy. And they were both happy, together. Yay.

"Yeah I guess." Knuckles let out. "Do you love Shadow?"

Rouge cocked a brow before letting out a sigh. "No."

Knuckles forced himself not to let out a sigh of relief.

"I mean, he makes me happy." Rouge let out as Knuckles realised he had to listen to a conversation of her debating her love for Shadow. This was not how he wanted to spend his Monday morning.

"We do have fun together." She continued as Knuckles took another sip of his coffee. "And the sex is really good."

Knuckles nearly spat out his coffee. "Great. Monday morning and I'm hearing about my best friend's sex life."

"Oh don't be such a prude." Rouge waved her hands dismissively. "Also, he's handsome. The whole mysterious vibe thing is a turn on—"

"That sounds more like infatuation than love." Knuckles cut off as Rouge's teal eyes glanced at him.

"You know what _infatuation_ means?" Rouge smirked as Knuckles frowned.

Knuckles knew that he wasn't always the smartest person within the group and he wasn't obsessed with books like Amy but he did listen in English class back in sophomore year. Plus, he had heard Amy use the word before in reference to one of her many books. He did catch up on this, contrary to popular opinion.

"Yes." he gritted through his teeth as Rouge let out a giggle.

"Infatuation doesn't equal love." Knuckles stated, continuing to drink his coffee. "Love is a rare strong connection between two people. It's being able to see them when having a shitty day and make that day the best day you ever had. It's wanting to be around them all the time. It's caring for a person no matter what, even though it hurts them."

The two sat in silence after that. Knuckles wanted to inwardly gag at his words. And the curious look at the ivory bat had turned into a smirk. He didn't like that smirk. That smirk meant trouble and he knew that.

So why could he just think about how her lip gloss makes her lips kissable?

He shrugged. "I'm just guessing."

"Are you?" Rouge asked. "Or has Knuckie been in love?"

Knuckles tried his best not to blush but a faint blush appeared on his face. He was _really_ hoping that she wouldn't notice him. _Really_ hoping.

"I'm—"

"Knuckles."

He knew that voice. That deep voice that he found so irritating yet Rouge found so sexy. He tried his best not to glare as the ebony hedgehog approached them. Shadow the Hedgehog glanced curiously at the two of them. He always wondered in moments like those if Shadow knew about his harbouring feelings. The ebony hedgehog and him weren't the _best_ of friends but they were respectful due to their relationship with Rouge.

Normally, he would hate his presence because it normally meant that he would have to leave Rouge but considering where his conversation with Rouge was going, he was actually _happy_ to see the ebony hedgehog.

"Shadow." Knuckles acknowledged

"Hey babe." Rouge smiled at Shadow as he gave her a small smirk.

He was _not_ happy to hear nor see that.

"What's going on here?" Shadow asked curiously. He had always wondered why Shadow never seemed jealous of their friendship. Or maybe he was and he was simply just really good at hiding it.

 _Wow, Knuckles, you're really flattering yourself._

"Knuckles was just—"

"Leaving. I have class in ten minutes." Knuckles cut off before smiling awkwardly at the couple.

"Our conversation isn't over!" Rouge let out as Knuckles chuckled awkwardly. He really didn't want to deal with this. At least he had classes until lunch and he didn't have any of those classes with her, meaning that he didn't have to deal with her until lunch.

He had until lunch to convince the best friend that he was in love with that he wasn't in love with her. Simple.

* * *

 **…** **.**

* * *

"What was that all about?" Shadow asked as the two were currently sitting on the couch in the student lounge.

"What was what all about?"

"You and Knuckles."

Rouge didn't know what to say. She and Shadow were doing well and she didn't want to spook him with this conversation. She didn't want to lie to him either, considering she as trying to be a more honest girlfriend but she guessed at this moment, a lie was much better than the truth.

"Nothing much." she shrugged.

The last thing she needed was to tell Shadow about the two of them talking about love. And how she was debating whether she loved him or not and more importantly, trying to figure out what Knuckles meant when he said that strong definition of love.

The two of them weren't really emotional people. If that speech was coming from Amy, the chief romantic idealist, she wouldn't have been surprised nor curious. Amy was the main believer in love and enjoyed a good rom-com or even romantic books. Sure, Rouge enjoyed the romantic comedy simply for the entertainment but for Amy, it was more than that.

Rouge and Knuckles normally just watched it to point out the incredulous behaviour within it. But the way that Knuckles had described his definition of love to her, it made her wonder if she was going to be able to find love.

There was no denying that she was attracted to Shadow and she was enjoying the relationship, but she didn't think that she _loved_ him. Perhaps she could love him later on in their relationship? But she wasn't too focused on her relationship with Shadow at the moment. She was more curious about Knuckles.

 _Where the hell did that meaning come from_?

Knuckles and Amy were pretty close, but he didn't think that he took her love advice seriously. Did Tikal tell him something? Was Tikal in love with someone?

Nah, I know Peaches. If she was in love with someone, I could tell.

"Rouge!"

The ivory bat blinked rapidly before turning to her slightly irritated boyfriend. She smirked. She enjoyed it when Shadow was jealous. Considering out of the two of them, Rouge showed more of her emotions and Shadow was seen as more of the _logical_ one, his jealously allowed her to see that he did care for her.

"Yes Shaddie?" Rouge purred as Shadow frowned instantly.

"You know I hate that nickname right?"

"You know I don't care right?" Rouge grinned as Shadow rolled her eyes. There was a beauty of annoying him.

Shadow huffed. "For something that was nothing, you seem to be really thinking about it."

There was an angry tone in his voice that Rouge noticed. Was he angry at her for spending time with Knuckles? She knew the two of them weren't the best of friends but she never thought that they would be jealous of one another. Sure, they were sometimes that she would unintentionally forget to do thing with Shadow for Knuckles and vice versa but she was convinced that they had gotten over that. He respected their friendship, didn't he?

"I'd say you're jealous." Rouge grinned as Shadow rolled his eyes.

"I don't get jealous." Shadow huffed as Rouge chuckled. She sighed before letting out her usual smirk.

"What?"

"I think Knuckles is in love with someone."

* * *

 **…** **.**

* * *

Shadow was worried.

He cared for Rouge but Rouge and people's love lives didn't mix well. He knew that she was going to be slightly invested in this because it was Knuckles and he was her best friend, meaning that as her boyfriend, he'd have to pretend to be invested in it too.

The two were currently on their way to math class, Shadow's eyes twitching as Rouge couldn't help but feel excited about her theory. He was mainly worried because he knew that Rouge was going to convince herself out of everything that she was right. Meaning that she was going to interfere with his love life, meaning that he'd have to give a damn about his love life.

Contrary to popular opinion, Shadow wasn't jealous of Rouge and Knuckles relationship. Sure, in the beginning, he wasn't such a huge fan of how strong their friendship was but he learned to respect it later on. He didn't get on with the red echidna particularly but the two of them did respect that they both equally cared for Rouge.

Despite him hating being involved with people's love life, he knew that she was coming from a place of love. She just wanted her best friend to be happy, but he just wished he didn't have to hear about it.

Rouge gave him a peck before going to her seat as Shadow tried his best not to blush. He huffed, maintaining his cool persona as he entered the math classroom and took his seat. Still, he couldn't help but be curious as to who Knuckles was in love with. He wasn't normally interested in people's love lives but when someone as reserved as Knuckles could be in love, he couldn't help but be curious.

 _Amy?_

Shadow scoffed at the thought. Everyone knew where the pink hedgehog's heart lied with and despite Sonic's denials, everyone knew that he felt the same.

 _Blaze?_

Both were pretty aloof with their personalities. But Shadow noticed that she had more of a romantic connection with Silver

 _Cosmo?_

Nah, her and Tails had a strong connection.

 _Sally?_

Nah, they didn't seem to really have a strong connection. They had a pretty good friendship but aside from that, he didn't really see a romantic connection between the two.

Shadow removed the thoughts from his head. Since when did he care about Knuckles' love life? He wasn't truly interested in other people's romantic interest and he wasn't going to start now.

So why was so curious to find out who he was in love with?

—

"Do you think it's Shade?" Rouge asked as the two were currently on their way to lunch.

Shade the echidna. Knuckles and her went on a couple of dates in middle school but they didn't mean anything. Knuckles didn't really seem so interested in her and vice versa. And there was also the fact that by the start of highschool, she had come out as gay.

"I highly doubt that." Shadow commented. "Considering that she's gay."

Rouge nodded, her thoughts still crowed with curiosity.

"Why are you so adamant about this?" Shadow asked dryly.

"Because he's my best friend. I should know." Rouge answered.

He never really understood her never ending need to know everything. Sometimes he wished that she simply didn't care.

"He'd probably tell you—"

"There he is." Rouge announced before she pecked his lips lightly. "I'd be right back. Get my usual order?"

He huffed as the ivory bat walked away towards the red echidna.

"When he's ready." He completed as he rolled his eyes. He tried his best not to get angry as he turned to the lunch lady before getting their usual lunches. Collecting the lunches from the lady he turned as he glanced at both Rouge and Knuckles.

Rouge was probably coaxing him about trying to find the _love of his life_. But that wasn't what was interesting him. It was the way Knuckles was looking at her. he seemed so interested in her, almost as if he was in—

 _No._

Shadow refused to become one of those petty jealous boyfriends that bans his girlfriend from hanging out with her best friend.

Even though her best friend might be in love with her.

* * *

 **…** **.**

* * *

"Just tell me already!"

Knuckles huffed as Rouge continued to coax him for his answer. He was surprised how long he was managing to keep himself together. She was leaning close to him, her certain _assets_ being pressed on his chest. He was currently trying his hardest not to blush.

"I got your order." Shadow let out as Knuckles couldn't help but hear an icy tone within his voice. Was there trouble in paradise between the two?

"Thanks." Rouge beamed, seemed to have dismissed Shadow's tone. He had guessed that her need to know the love of life was somehow more important.

"C'mon Knuckles! _Please_." Rouge pleaded.

"Stop sounding so desperate." Shadow let out stiffly as Knuckles did not miss the sharp glare that Rouge had given him.

"Whatever." she hissed at him. "I'd find out myself."

Awkward silence filled the table as Knuckles couldn't help but want to sink under the table. He hated being in the middle of Shadow and Rouge's fights, mainly because he somehow got involved in them. Most of the time, he managed to be the person that pushed them to forgive each other (even though he hated it). Now that the fight was about him? He knew that he was going to be on Shadow's death list.

"Hey guys!"

Knuckles couldn't help but feel relieved as he saw Sonic and Tails approaching the table.

Thank Chaos.

"Hey Big Blue, Fox Boy." Rouge smirked

"Tails, Faker." Shadow acknowledged as Rouge rolled her eyes.

Sonic and Tails glanced at Knuckles, who mouthed _fight_. Sonic and Tails nodded before looking at each other. Knuckles frowned. They were probably debating if they were going to sit on the table or not. Knuckles glared at them, there was _no_ way he was dealing with them alone.

"Okay, so how was everyone's summer?" Sonic asked awkwardly as Knuckles watched Tails sit awkwardly beside Rouge. Poor guy. He got the short end of the stick.

"Good." Rouge answered.

"Alright." Shadow shrugged. The icy glare competition ensued.

Knuckles felt Sonic and Tails' look on him. They were probably wondering what on earth happened. The last thing he needed was for them to know about the problem, then _they'd_ be curious as to who he was in love with. He had managed to keep his secret from majority of his friends. In all honesty, he wondered if they knew or not. They used to tease him about them dating when they were younger but when Shadow and Rouge started dating, the teasing had been decreased. Sonic and Manic occasionally tease him about him possibly being jealous but apart from that, nothing really.

Either they didn't know about his love for her, or they knew and simply didn't want to get involved. Either way, they didn't bother him with it, that much.

"Are we just going sit here in awkward silence?" Sonic let out as Knuckles and Tails glared at him.

"I would love to talk but I don't want to sound too _desperate_." Rouge let out bitterly, glancing at Shadow.

"Now you just sound petty." Shadow muttered.

"Why you—"

"Hey! Look! It's that guy!" Tails interrupted, pointing at a random direction before carrying his lunch.

"Yup, it is that guy." Sonic played along, gathering his stuff and leaving.

"Wait up guys! I want to meet that guy." Knuckles let out awkwardly before leaving the couple alone.

He knew that this was probably not going to end and it was probably going to cause more drama than needed, but at least for now, he could avoid his problems.

—

"Hey Knuckles!"

Knuckles turned away from his locker before seeing Sonia.

Sonia the Hedgehog, his ex-girlfriend.

Aside from his love for Rouge, he did have feelings for Sonia. Sonia and him had always been close from childhood, one of the joys of being friends with Sonic and Manic. By middle school, he concluded that he had feelings for Sonia and with the help from the girls asked her out.

They had a long meaningful relationship. He didn't _love_ her as much as he wanted to push himself to but he did care for her and he didn't regret the relationship. He did feel bad when he ended it. Even though it was a mutual break-up and both still respected each other and saw each other as friends, he always wondered if she did love him.

"Hey." Knuckles smiled as the magenta hedgehog smiled. Despite popular belief, it wasn't awkward between them. They didn't deal with the hostile break-up that led to the two of them hating each other.

"How are you doing?"

"Currently avoiding Rouge and Shadow." Knuckles stated as Sonia couldn't help but chuckle.

"It's because their fighting."

"Is it?" Sonia coaxed as Knuckles sighed.

Yeah, Sonia also happened to know that Knuckles was hopelessly in love with her. It was the main reason for their break-up. Knuckles had realised that he couldn't keep lying to himself and Sonia within their relationship.

He sighed. "I'm trying to get over her."

At least that was what he was telling himself. He had accepted that Shadow and Rouge were dating and were happy—well sorta—but he wasn't truly sure if he was getting over. It was more of just pushing down his feelings with denial. Yeah, that was it.

Sonia's blue eyes looked at him worriedly. "Are you really?"

"Sonia—"

"I just don't want you to get hurt." Sonia let out as Knuckles gave her a small smile. It was nice to know that despite their relationship, they still cared for each other.

 **BRING!**

Knuckles grabbed his PE textbook as she closed his locker. "Trust me. I'm plenty hurt."

Knuckles gave Sonia a sad smile before starting to walk to his lesson only for him to be dragged into the janitor's closet.

"What the hell—

The light turned on as Knuckles glanced at Rouge the Bat. It took him a few seconds to realise that her chest was resting right on his chest. He tried his best not to blush nor free out but his heart was beating rapidly.

Just be cool. Just be cool.

"I can' believe I didn't see it." Rouge smirked as Knuckles couldn't help but keep glancing at her pink coated lips. He always wondered what they tasted like? Strawberries? Watermelon.

"Didn't see what?"

"Who you're in love with." Rouge stated as Knuckles tried his best not to gulp. Had she figured it out? He always knew that Rouge was good at knowing people's secrets but he never thought that she'd find out about this. He thought he had hidden it so well that she'd never find out but he guessed that she was wrong.

"Rouge—"

"You're in love with Sonia."

* * *

 **…** **.**

* * *

 **WOO! That's chapter one! I really wanted to do something different with the plot and I'm actually really happy that this is what happened!**

 **There's a little bit of Shadouge but as you can see, problems are starting to arise.**

 **Julie will still be in this story and still play and important part but I didn't want to introduce her right in the beginning but rather develop the story a little more then introduce her.**

 **I hope I didn't make Shadow too OOC. I don't picture Shadow as the type of person that would ban his girlfriend from hanging out with guys (especially a girl like Rouge) so I just want to make him a little more curious as to Knuckles and Rouge's relationship.**

 **Hope you all like this chapter!**

 **I'd try and make updates weekly rather than daily (depends on what I have going on)**

 **See you all soon!**

\- **Queen Taurus**


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